Rwanda in 2006

In 2006 the Rwandan government instituted a major administrative reorganization designed to weaken ethnic conflict and promote power sharing. It replaced the previous 12 provinces with 5 larger, multiethnic zones: North, South, East, West, and Kigali provinces. Nationwide local elections were carried out in March without incident. Women candidates made a strong showing, winning 26% of the elective offices and taking 13 of 29 municipal seats in the capital. No woman was appointed governor, but Aisa Kirabo Kakira was elected mayor of Kigali.

Progress continued toward political and economic recovery. The political parties united to form an umbrella organization intended to propagate a culture of tolerance. Most important, the World Bank granted the country 100% debt relief from July 1, an action that would promote development and alleviate poverty. In April negotiations began in Arusha, Tanz., toward Rwanda’s integration into the East African Community.

Reconciliation continued to be the dominant theme of domestic and international relations. On April 7 Pres. Paul Kagame addressed a massive crowd at Nyamasheke, Western province, at the beginning of Mourning Week, the commemoration of the 12th anniversary of the 1994 genocide. Noting the difficulties of conflict resolution, he called on the citizens to complete the recovery of corpses scattered throughout the countryside and give the dead honourable burials. That same month the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission released its annual report, which itemized 22 problems that hindered unity and reconciliatory justice, including disregard for the decisions of the provincial gacaca (genocide courts), lingering interethnic hostility, and clandestine groups that intimidated potential witnesses.

Meanwhile, genocide trials dragged on within Rwanda, in Tanzania, and in Europe. A former senior Rwandan diplomat testified that French soldiers actively encouraged the 1994 genocide activities, and 25 tribunal witnesses gave evidence to support his claim; their testimonies were broadcast on local radio. In France a military court instituted an independent investigation of these charges. Because Germany, Norway, and other countries had repeatedly refused to extradite notorious perpetrators of genocide on the grounds that Rwanda still had the death penalty, the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front drafted legislation to abolish capital punishment. Further, President Kagame castigated the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for its slow, expensive proceedings in Arusha that involved more than 1,000 employees from 85 countries and would cost an estimated $1 billion by the end of 2007. Since 1994 the tribunal had delivered fewer than 40 verdicts, including 11 sentences of death and 17 of life imprisonment.